Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic joins Federer’s coaching team

Former Croatian tennis player Ivan Ljubicic has become a new coach for Roger Federer after the Swiss third seed has parted company with Swede Stefan Edberg, AFP news agency reported on Wednesday.

The former No. 1 will continue working with his Swiss coach Severin Luthi, a partnership that started in 2008, but will also be coached by Ljubicic. Ljubicic ended his playing career in 2012 and has coached Canadian Milos Raonic since 2013. He is a good friend of Federer’s.

“After 2 very successful years, I would like to thank Stefan Edberg, my childhood idol, for agreeing to join my team. It was a dream come true,” Federer wrote on his Facebook page. “Although it was supposed to be only for 2014, Stefan was great and agreed to extend the partnership through this year which I really appreciated.”

Edberg said he had a “wonderful two years” with Federer but made it clear that he always planned to walk away at the end of this season. “After an amazing 2014, I decided to continue on for another year, but with a clear understanding that it would be my last year given the time commitment,” the six-time Grand Slam champion said.